WASHINGTON -- The Alabama case of a 14-year-old murderer sentenced to life in prison without parole will be debated Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is being asked to declare the punishment too harsh for a juvenile.

Evan Miller was 14 when he was convicted of arson and murder in 2003 in Lawrence County. On the same day the jury found him guilty, the judge issued the sentence with no debate over Miller's age or the circumstances of his troubled youth, which included domestic violence, drug abuse and attempted suicide.

"He was simply sent off to prison for life-without-parole as an automatic consequence of his conviction for arson-murder," Miller's attorneys wrote to the Supreme Court. "Such a judgment cannot be squared with this court's judgments (in prior cases) that punishment must constitutionally be proportioned to culpability and that the youth and youthful frailties of an adolescent offender bear crucially on culpability."

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments in two similar cases, Miller's and that of Kuntrell Jackson from Arkansas, about whether sending a 14-year-old murderer to prison for the rest of his life violates the constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Both cases will be argued by Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, and together they represent another opportunity for the justices to give young criminals a shot at rehabilitation.

Over the last few years, the justices have protected juveniles from the death penalty, and for juveniles convicted of crimes less than homicide, protected them from life-without-parole sentences. Their rulings have cited sociology and science about the immaturity and underdeveloped sense of responsibility in young teens, and were repeated by Miller's attorneys.

"It is constitutionally impermissible to make a final, irrevocable judgment that a young teenager will forever be unsuited for life in free society," Stevenson wrote.

On the other side is the state of Alabama, which argues that because most states make 14-year-olds eligible for life without parole, it signals an acceptance by policymakers around the country, and therefore is not cruel or unusual.

"Whereas society recognizes a fundamental line between juveniles and adults at age 18, it recognizes no similarly fundamental line between younger adolescents and older ones," wrote the Alabama Attorney General's office. "Fourteen-year-olds are no doubt two years younger than sixteen-year-olds, but they are not categorically less capable of understanding that it is wrong to commit murder."

Alabama also argues that without the option of life-without-parole, the sentence of a 14-year-old murderer would be no more harsh than one convicted of something less serious than murder.

"These sentences give governments a means of expressing appropriate outrage over the worst crimes," according to the Alabama AG's brief.

Ninteen other states are supporting Alabama's case, arguing that states should be allowed to address this issue themselves in their legislatures. They said 38 states allow 14-year-olds to be sent away for life without parole, and 26 states make it mandatory in some cases.

A ruling in Miller's favor "disrupts the democratic process and deprives society of the opportunity to reach true 'consensus' when it prematurely ends valuable public debate over this moral issue," according to the states' brief backing Alabama and Arkansas.

Miller and Jackson are being supported by a wide range of organizations, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, the American Bar Association and several former juvenile court judges. One of the more notable briefs is from family members of victims of juvenile offenders.

"Despite their devastating losses, (these family members of the murder victims) know from experience what science confirms: children are fundamentally redeemable. (They) therefore believe youthful offenders should be offered a legitimate chance through rehabilitation to lead productive, law-abiding lives," according to their brief.

Miller was convicted in the death of his 52-year-old neighbor, Cole Cannon. A 16-year-old co-defendant pleaded guilty and testified against Miller, and was sentenced to life with eligibility for parole, according to the Equal Justice Institute.